“Be ready for anything,” she whispered to Ben and Gordon.
She pressed her tattoo on the spot that was different. She heard a click and moved back to let the door open. Once the door was fully open they slowly moved forward and entered the room. All they saw was a big trunk sitting in the middle of the room. Alix wanted to cry but she had to stay strong for now.
She stopped Ben and Gordon from going any further into the room. Alix wanted to make sure there were no traps or anything else in the way to get Shay out of that box. She spread out her energy to search for Grynn magic just like Kris had shown her. She didn’t sense anything and concentrated especially hard on the box itself. She found the box protected by something like a force field. She was going to have to get rid of it using her magic.
Alix walked up to the trunk and positioned her hands over the trunk in order to get the feel of the energy that was creating the barrier around it. In the back of her mind she wondered where Logan was but since she knew he couldn’t leave the castle she tried to forget about him for the moment.
“Ben,” Alix said, “please stand lookout. We don’t know where Logan is and we don’t want him sneaking up on us. I need to figure out how to get Shay out of this box.”
Ben did as she asked, and she turned her attention back to the puzzle in front of her. Alix knew that if she could figure out the exact energy that was being used to maintain the shield around the box she’d be able to break it. Something told her not to touch the shield so instead she sent out little feelers of energy to test the barrier. As the little streams of energy were working their way around the trunk Alix was able to sense the evil energy that was being used. The longer her energy was in contact with the barrier the more she was able to learn. In just a minute or so she had figured out how to reverse the field around the box. She pulled the evil energy that surrounded the trunk into her hands. It made her feel sick to her stomach to have that much bad energy in her body, but she would do anything for Shay. In a matter of moments, she had taken in enough of the bad energy from the barrier that she was able to break the seal surrounding the box. As soon as she knew the box was free she had to get the evil out of her body. She took all of the bad energy and formed it into a ball in her hands. Then she made the ball explode so it destroyed all the of the evil Grynn energy.
“Okay guys, it’s safe now. Let’s get her out of there,” Alix said.
When they opened the lid, Shay appeared lifeless in the box. Alix touched her forehead and was relieved when she found the Sleep of Death. She knew exactly how to deal with that and knew that Shay was going to be alright.
“Ben, Gordon, can you please help me get her out of here?”
“Where’s Logan?” Ben asked as he helped Gordon lift Shay out of the box.
“I don’t know for sure, but he’s not down here. Let me see if I can search for him.”
Alix flung out her magic like she did when they were looking for Shay, only this time she concentrated on Logan. He was a little harder to find given his Grynn powers, but she finally sensed him on the main floor. He was trying to get out of the castle.
“I found him, but we have to hurry. He’s trying to escape but since he doesn’t want to be seen he’s moving slowly. Can you guys carry Shay out of here? I know what’s wrong with her but in order to catch Logan I need to move quickly.”
“I can carry her Miss Alix," Gordon said. “She’s tiny and barely weighs a thing.”
“She’d be thrilled to hear you say that Gordon. Thank you. When we get back to the main floor take her to where everyone else is and make her comfortable. I’ll be able to make her better just as soon as I’m finished with Logan.”
They made their way back through the twisty dungeons and up the stairs to the main floor. Gordon was headed back to the main foyer and Alix and Ben went to find Logan.
She could still feel him. He was on the second floor now. They moved as quickly and quietly as they could. They caught up to him just as he was starting to go up the stairs to the third floor.
“Logan,” Alix yelled. “Stop, we can help you. We’ve got Shay and she’s fine. Come back downstairs with us.”
Logan turned around and gave her an evil smile. “Nice try Alix but I know Shay’s almost dead, I can feel it and there’s nothing you can do about it. And as for me, I don’t need your help.”
He immediately created an energy ball and threw it at them. Alix was able to easily deflect it and send it exploding into the wall. They were fine but that had given Logan enough time to start running.
“Put your shield up,” Alix told Ben and they took off after Logan.
They saw him run through the doors to the rooftop garden. They ran to the door but were cautious entering. They had no idea what Logan had in store for them.
They crept through the garden searching for any sign of Logan. Suddenly Alix was hit with another energy ball. It caused her to stumble, but she easily withstood the attack. Before she could recover she was hit with another one. This time she was ready and saw where it had come from. She sent her own small one back at Logan. She really didn’t want to hurt him if he was doing this against his will. The energy ball hit him. He fell to his knees but got right back up and started running to the end of the garden.
“I’d rather die than be captured,” he yelled as he was running.
He reached the end of the roof and jumped. Luckily for all involved Alix’s barrier was in place. So instead of Logan falling to his death he simply bounced off the barrier and fell back down to the floor.
Alix and Ben walked very slowly over to him. He wasn’t moving but they decided it was best to be vigilant. Ben nudged Logan with his toe when they reached him, but he still didn’t move. He was breathing so it appeared that he’d knocked himself unconscious when he hit the barrier. Alix quickly bound him. He may have been out cold but until they could get the Grynn powers out of him he was still dangerous.
Alix used her magic to levitate Logan, so they could get him downstairs. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when Alix and Ben entered the main foyer. Alix put Logan down and went over to where Shay was laying on one of the couches.
“Can someone please take him out of here?” Alix said pointing to Logan. “I don’t want Shay to see him when I revive her. He’s bound so he can’t hurt you. After I take care of Shay I’ll see what I can do about him.”
James and Gordon carried Logan off and put him in another room.
Alix kneeled down beside Shay and put one hand on her head and the other one over her heart. She could feel the Sleep of Death in her as well as the magic that Logan was using to control her. Alix pushed her magic into Shay and gradually removed Logan’s energy. With a little bit more, energy the Sleep of Death was gone from her body too. When Alix knew that Shay was going to be physically fine tears started falling from her eyes.
Shay took a deep breath and sat up. She looked around very confused. “What’s going on? Why are you all staring at me? Alix, why are you crying?”
All Alix could do was let the tears fall and hug Shay. Even though Shay was a little confused she hugged Alix back.
“Shay,” Alix said through her tears. “I know you’re not sure what’s going on, but I have to know that you’re okay. This may sound strange, but do you know who I am and where we are?”
“Of course, I do Alix. Is this some kind of joke?”
“No Shay, this is very serious. What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Um … the meeting with the Council about what happened back home,” Shay answered slowly.
“And how about before that?” Alix asked.
“Uh, meeting Logan at the party after your Induction Ceremony I think.”
“Okay. Shay, I don’t want to upset you, but the meeting was two days ago, and the Ceremony was four days ago.”
“I don’t understand,” Shay said clearly confused.
“I know, and I’ll do my best to explain so that it makes sense
,” Alix said. “Logan isn’t who you think he is. He was being influenced by the Grynn. At some point the Grynn were able to capture him and transfer some of their powers into him. He was able to do something to you with his magic that controlled you. You haven’t been acting like yourself since after the Ceremony. You’ve been spending all your time with him and you were even mean to me. But you’re okay now.”
Shay sat there for a moment letting Alix’s words sink in.
“I don’t really know what to say but I’m pretty sure I need to apologize to you. I can’t believe I was mean to you.”
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m just happy you’re alright," Alix told her.
“Where is Logan?” Shay asked. “Did you catch him?”
“Yes, we did and he’s secure, you don’t have to worry about him ever again. I’m going to go talk to him in a little while. You were my first concern.”
“Can I see him?”
“If you really want to. I have him bound so he can’t hurt anyone again.”
“I think I need to.”
“Okay. Let’s go,” Alix told her. “Gordon, can you take us to Logan.”
“Of course, Miss Alix,” he said. “Please follow me ladies.”
They followed him to the room beside the one that they were keeping Jack in. Logan was laid out on the couch. It looked like he was sleeping. Shay walked over to him and studied him for a minute.
“He’s not as hot as I thought he was,” was all she said and walked back out of the room.
Alix followed her as she walked toward the main staircase. Alix caught Ben’s attention as they made their way past the lounge area where everyone was still waiting. They continued to follow Shay as she went upstairs and down the hallway to Alix’s room. She went in and sat on the couch, still not saying a word.
“Shay, are you alright?” Alix asked. “You look a little pale.”
“I can’t believe I was so stupid,” Shay said.
“Shay none of this is your fault at all, if anything it’s mine. Somehow the Grynn found out about Jack and that he was connected to me and used his nephew as a way to get to me.”
“Alix,” Ben said, “this is only the fault of the Grynn, not you, not Shay and I don’t even think we can blame Logan.”
Both of the girls started to protest but Ben stopped them. “No,” he said firmly, “this entire situation has happened because the Grynn are evil. They are the only ones to blame and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation Alix looked at Shay and a small giggle escaped her lips. Shay smiled and laughed as well. The girls ended up laughing until they had tears. Ben just sat there and waited until they were done.
“Would you please tell me what was so funny?” he asked them.
“You,” Alix said. “You sounded just like my dad when I get in trouble. And I guess with all the tension I just kind of lost it for a minute.”
Shay nodded as if she agreed completely.
“Girls,” Ben mumbled and shook his head.
“So, what do we do now?” Shay asked.
“You stay here and rest,” Alix told her. “I have to go back and talk to the other council members and decide what we’re going to do about Logan. Ben, can you please find Sara and ask her to stay with Shay. I’d ask you to stay but I know you still won’t leave my side.” Shay gave her a questioning look. “I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”
“Sure Alix,” Ben said, and went in search of Sara.
“What time is it anyway?” Shay asked after Ben left.
“Some time in the middle of the night. I had a vision dream and I knew you were in trouble. I woke everyone up, so they could all help.”
“I wish I could remember what happened,” Shay said.
“Actually, I don’t think you want to. Shay, I found you in a box in the dungeons below the castle. I’m pretty sure that’s something you don’t want to remember.”
Shay shuddered and nodded. “Maybe you’re right. And I can’t believe I was mean to you. I don’t know what happened, but I wish I could take it back.”
“Once I figured out what was going on it didn’t hurt as much. All I wanted to do after that was find a way to save you and stop what was happening.”
Shay reached over and hugged Alix. “I’m still sorry,” Shay said.
“I know but you don’t need to be. Evil magic was influencing you. Don’t stress about it.”
Ben came back in the room with Sara following. She went straight over to Shay and hugged her.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. We’ve been worried about you.”
“Thanks Sara. Thanks to Alix I’m alright. Pretty awesome best friend huh.”
“You got that right. So, is it okay if I stay here with you while Ben and Alix go do their thing?”
“Of course, but I’m probably just going to sleep. I’m really tired.”
“No problem. I might crash too, after all someone did wake us up in the middle of the night,” Sara said smiling at Alix.
“Okay, you two get some rest. And don’t worry about being in this room alone. It’s protected from anything bad getting in,” Alix told them. “We’ll be back as soon as I know what’s going on.”
Chapter 27
Alix and Ben went back downstairs to the main foyer. Everyone was still there waiting to find out what was happening.
“Hey everyone,” Alix said. “Shay is fine and resting. She’ll get over this, but it’ll most likely take a while. I think most of you can go back to bed, have a snack or just find somewhere to relax. The remaining Council members and I are going to look into the Logan issue. I’d also like to thank you all. Without your help Logan would have escaped and took precious information about me and my family back to the Grynn. I appreciate what you did more than you’ll ever know.”
After a minute or so Alix, Ben, Ruth, Shelley and James were the only ones left and they went straight to the room where Logan was.
“What are we going to do with him?” Ben asked.
“I need to figure out what the Grynn have done to him and find a way to remove it. I still feel the urgency that this needs to be done before sunrise in order to save him. I’m going to send some energy into him to see if I can sense the Grynn magic. I might need a boost of power so please all of you be ready to touch me and send your energy to me.”
Everyone nodded and was ready. Alix put both hands-on Logan’s chest and sent out a few tendrils of energy into him. She was sure this was going to be harder than removing the force field from the box that he put Shay in. She could still feel what it was like to have the evil energy enter her body.
The tendrils moved through Logan until they picked up on something at the base of his skull. It was almost like a tiny pulsing ball of energy.
“I found it,” she said to the group. “It’s a small energy ball about the size of a pea and it seems to be attached to his brain stem. Removing it is going to be extremely risky. I don’t want to cause him permanent damage.”
Alix focused on the tiny ball and attempted to penetrate it with her magic. It was like it had its own little force field surrounding it and her magic couldn’t cross it. She figured she was going to somehow bring it out of his body and then destroy it.
“Ruth, do you have a box or a safe that we can secure with magic? I think I’m going to have to remove this from his body, I can’t destroy it while it’s in there.”
“Yes,” she answered. “Ben, can you please find Gordon and have him bring us the portable safe from the vault. And please tell him to hurry, it’s getting close to sunrise.”
Ben took off running. As Alix was studying the energy in Logan it seemed to change. She almost felt like it was trying to force her out. She pushed her magic farther, but it seemed to be gaining strength.
“I have to get this out now,” she said urgently. “I think it knows I’m trying to remove it. I need your help. Gi
ve me some of your energy like we did to cover the castle.”
James, Ruth and Shelley all put a hand on Alix and shared their energy with her. Alix fought with the evil energy until she was able to finally surround it with her magic. Now she had to figure out how to get it out of Logan and she knew she was running out of time.
She thought about pulling that energy into her but as soon as she thought it she knew it was a bad idea. This was much stronger magic than the force field had been earlier, and she instinctively knew that if she let this into her body it wouldn’t leave. Maybe that’s what they were counting on.
Alix searched Logan’s body for the best place to bring the energy out and decided that his mouth might be the best option. It was the closest natural opening to the energy ball that went away from his brain and didn’t get near his heart. She felt that keeping it away from anything vital was key.
She knew Ben was back when she got an extra boost of energy. That was exactly what she needed. She slowly moved the ball of energy away from Logan’s brain stem and straight to his mouth. It was far more difficult than she had anticipated as the energy was fighting her the entire time. She heard Gordon enter the room just when she needed and extra set of hands.
“Gordon, I need you to open his mouth please.”
“As you wish Miss Alix,” he said and did as she asked.
“Now I need you to open that safe and be ready to close it when I say.”
Alix was moving the energy ball painfully slow, but she didn’t want to risk losing it or have it hurt Logan. A glowing ball of blue energy appeared in Logan’s mouth and she knew she was almost there. Gordon was standing next to her ready to accept the dangerous energy. It took everything that Alix had to get the energy to leave his body. It was pulling in the opposite direction that Alix was.
“Gordon, please put the safe on Logan’s chest and share your energy with me. I’m going to lose it.”
Alix felt Gordon’s extra energy and it was just enough to allow her to pull the tiny ball out of Logan’s mouth and move it to the safe. As soon as it was in there Gordon closed it. Ruth and James took the safe and sealed it with magic. As soon as Alix knew the energy was contained she turned around to thank them, but her legs gave way and she collapsed. Ben managed to catch her before she hit the floor.
Chosen One Page 19
